Chamber and committees

Are we content to accept that? I will just officially recognise that pay as you go is apparently contactless tap-in. There we are. That is my prehistoric ignorance of such matters.

The report was published in August.

Are members content?

Members indicated agreement.

PE1947, which was lodged by Alex O’Kane, is another petition with which the committee has been extensively involved. It urges the Scottish Government to address the disturbing culture of youth violence in Scotland.

We last considered the petition on 6 March, following our site visits, and we agreed to write to the Minister for Victims and Community Safety, seeking her response to a number of points. In particular, we requested clear information on what a whole-system approach to youth offending looks like when addressing repeated incidences of violence perpetrated by a young person.

The minister’s response recognises that, although the aim is to keep children out of the criminal justice system, in some cases that will not be possible or appropriate. The minister highlights that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states:

“The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child ... shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest ... period of time”.

The severity of a crime will influence whether it is proportionate to arrest a child and present them at a police custody centre.

The Scottish Sentencing Council’s guidelines on the sentencing of young people are also highlighted. The guidelines focus on rehabilitation but note that other factors, such as protection of the public, punishment and expressing disapproval of the offending behaviour, can be taken into account. That is very consistent with the experience of those of us who heard evidence. The submission explains that young people aged 12 to 17 who have committed a serious sexual offence or are considered to be a serious risk of harm can be managed in various ways. That includes care and risk management or multi-agency public protection arrangements, if they have been convicted of the offence in a criminal court.

On victim support, the minister points to the “Standards of Service for Victims and Witnesses” document that is published by key criminal justice agencies. The document seeks to explain what happens at each stage of the criminal justice process, the standards of service that can be expected and who can be contacted for help or advice.

The petitioner has provided a new submission, in which he once again expresses his concerns about the justice system and reiterates his view that youth violence is aggravated by a lack of consequences, deterrence and punishment. I have to say that that is very much what those of us on the committee at the time who met and took evidence from people felt was being very clearly and strongly expressed.

The petitioner also raises concerns about funding, arguing that

“a lack of funding was inevitably going to lower the bar in every field of service”

and that it would put young people

“at risk and the public in more danger.”

David, were you on the committee when we took this evidence?

PE2012, which was lodged by Angela Hamilton, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to remove the need for follicle-stimulating hormone blood tests in women aged 40-45 who are experiencing menopause symptoms, before hormone replacement therapy can be prescribed to relieve their symptoms and replenish hormone levels.

We last considered the petition at our meeting on 6 March 2024, when we agreed to write to the British Menopause Society and NHS Education for Scotland. The latter has advised that there has been a slight delay in the delivery of its online learning modules on menopause and menstrual health, but notes that the resource will be free to access for practitioners working in Scotland, and will include cases describing the lived experience of women who are facing barriers to accessing HRT preparations.

We have received a brief response from the British Menopause Society, which refers to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines that set out that blood tests are often not necessary to diagnose perimenopause or menopause in women aged 40 to 45. It is the society’s view that diagnosis, and hence the need or otherwise for treatment, should be based on history, period pattern and the presence or otherwise of symptoms.

Are there any suggestions for action on the back of that?

It appears that we are content, so we thank the petitioner for lodging the petition with us, but we will close it on the basis of the information that we have received.

The corporate body is mindful of its duty to ensure that the workload of its staff is carefully managed, and that staff are recognised for the valuable contribution that they make, including to project work.

The SPCB’s performance management approach ensures that staff objectives are set, reviewed and updated so that staff are well supported in their roles. The corporate body operates pay policy arrangements that ensure that staff are appropriately compensated for additional overtime work that they are required to carry out.

Members are designated as prescribed persons under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, following its amendment in December 2022. To support members in that role, the corporate body issued guidance on handling disclosures to all members and their staff. The guideline outlines the circumstances in which protected disclosures might be made to individual members, how they should manage those disclosures and the legal implications of that. We also arranged training that was offered by external experts in early 2023. Those sessions offered some practical advice on handling cases.

Richard Leonard makes a reasonable case. The corporate body has asked officials to review the training that is offered to members to ensure that it covers all aspects of their roles and to consider whether further training might be provided to help to refresh their knowledge and understanding of their roles. Officials are also considering whether the training needs to be added to the members’ staff training plan in line with normal practice. The members’ staff forum will be consulted to ensure that it meets their needs.

—that it is the case that, this year, a considerable number of members will be well short of using their actual staff cost provision, and that, therefore, an uprated index would not make the difference to the provision that they have.

I thank Paul O’Kane for that question, which is similar to ones that we have received in previous years. The SPCB will not consult the trade unions, because it is not the employer of members’ staff. The SPCB is responsible for funding the members’ expenses scheme and for determining which indices are used to uprate the overall provisions, including staff cost provision. That arrangement is set out in the scheme as agreed by the Parliament.

Our responsibility is to set the framework within which salary increases can be agreed, but it is for individual members, as the employers, to determine any salary increase within the overall budget that is available, either on their own or in concert with colleagues.